Apparatus for the handling of shoes mounted upon lasts



June 12, 1934. E. PLE El AL 1,962,970

APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS Filed July 16. 1932 s Sheets-Sheet 1 [RV-673210715 pier/@1 16 Marcelfiie,

19 Jim 625%,

Aziorney E. PLE ETl' AL June 12, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS Filed July 16, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jfiorney.

Z imp mm Eerre Pie 2 .MCLT'CZ 13? MM (3. 2213/ June 12, 1934. PLE Er AL 1,962,970

APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS Filed July 16. 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 o o o o o W 54 O O O O 0 E. PLE ET AL June 12, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 16 [rave/fliers zdmoraiple' Hwrefile 21 Jilorney.

E. PLE ET AL June' 12, 1934.

APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS Filed July 16. 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 1522/6150) zclrnoraiplq' pl errepk Marael Fla 7 {flaw 635a? Jiiarney.

Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR THE HANDLING'OF SHOES MOUNTED UPON LASTS Edmond Pl, Pierre Pl, and Marcel Pl,

- Paris, France 6 Claims. (Cl. 21136) The present invention relates to an apparatus having the form of a transporter or truck, which is adapted for use in shoe factories and serves to transport the shoes between the different working points in the factory, when the shoes are mounted upon their lasts.

The lasts employed in the manufacture of shoes consist as a'rule of a properly shaped wood piece, whose top part is at the same level as the upper part of the shoes in the case of low shoes, while it stops at the beginning of the upper, in the case of shoes with high uppers.

These lasts are usually provided on the top face with a cylindrical mortise or recess by which 15.the last can be mounted upon a suitable pin which forms part of the several shoe machines, whereby the last with its shoe will be maintained in the proper position for the operations performed by the machine. In conformity to the invention, the apparatus which serves to contain the shoes and to transport them from one point to another, is provided with suitable brackets each carrying a pin analogous to those above mentioned, and adjacent this main pin is located a second pin of suitable size and shape, whilst the shoe last is provided at the corresponding point with an additional recess into which this second pin can be inserted.

In order to mount a shoe with its last upon the said apparatus, the recesses of the last are engaged upon the two pins of the said support of the apparatus, in each case. I

By this means, the shoe with its last is maintained, with the sole of the shoe" upwards, in an absolutely stable position, and thus the shoe will suffer no damage by contact with the adjacent shoes or with any part of the apparatus itself.

The second pin may be dispensed with, provided the main pin is not given a circular crosssection, but has an oval or polygonal section, for example.

On the other hand, the devices carrying the said pins, in conformity to the invention, may' 5 still comprise bars or other suitable supports, and in this manner, shoes which are not mounted upon lasts may be transported when required.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 represents a conveying truck provided with supports fitted with pins, in conformity to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view on a larger scale, of a support carrying a last, which is herein represented in section. v

tervals with supports, preferably metallic, com- Fig. 3 is an analogous view of a modified form of support.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of the truck comprising supports adapted for shoes with high uppers.

Fig. 5 represents a modified form of support combined for use with shoes with or without lasts.

Fig. 6 shows a transporter adapted for use with drying chambers, and Fig. 7 shows an element of the same on a larger scale. 7

Fig. 8 represents a transporter of the straightline type adapted for horizontal movement.

Fig. 9 is a view on a larger scale showing one end of the device represented in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 shows the upper part of a transporter arranged for straight-line movement in the upward direction, and Fig. 11 shows one end of the same on a larger scale.

The transporting truck represented in Fig. 1 p is adapted to receive low shoes or slippers. It comprises a frame 30 having at the ends suitable cross-pieces 31, and the two cross-pieces situated at the same level are connected together by longitudinal bars 32 which are providedat suitable inprising a vertical pin 33 of the same size as the pm of the aforesaid machines or work-benches.

Adjacent the said pin is a second vertical pin 34, mounted on a transverse plane with reference to the transporting truck.

Each shoe such as 35 is mounted on a last 41 (Fig. 2) which comprises in known manner a recess 42 whose size and shape correspond to the pin 33, and, in conformity to the invention, the lasts have in all cases a second recess 43 whose size and position correspond to the second pin 34, and thus when the two recesses are engaged upon the said pins, the last, and hence the shoe which it carries, will now have the inverted position, and will be situated crosswiseof the apparatus 30, as shown in Fig. 1.

Due to this disposition, the apparatus will receive several rows of shoes which are preferably arranged in juxtaposed pairs.

Since the pins 33 and 34 have a considerable height, it is quite impossible for the lasts to be disengaged spontaneously from the said pins, and on the other hand the presence of the pin 34 prevents the last from turning about the pin 33 and from placing the shoe in contact with the adjacent objects.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the pins 33 and 34 are secured byrivets, by soldering or brazing, to a small plate 36 which can be secured to the bar 32 by ordinary screws.

The pin 34 is provided with a small flange 37 by which it is securely fixed.

Fig.- 3 shows an auxiliary pin 38 having a more pointed outline, by which the last can be more 5 readily placed on its support.

The truck represented in Fig. 1 is not adapted to receive shoes with high uppers, as the uppers of such shoes extend for several centimetres above the visible surface of the last.

40 (Fig. 4) it is preferable to employ the supports shown this figure, in which case the pins 33'34 are mounted, by brazing or soldering, at the end of an inclined bracket 39 secured to the bars 32 of the truck.

The bracket 39 affords all the space necessary in order that the shoe will take the proper position when the pins 33-34 are engaged in the corresponding mortises of the last employed with 20 the shoe.

It should be noted that in this event the small plate 36 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is unnecessary and that on the other hand, it is obvious that this bracket device is adapted for'shoes with low upzs' pers such as 35. as well as for shoes with high uppers such as 40.

During manufacture, certain operations require that the last should be removed from theshoe, and in order to transport the shoes between the 3g different working points, it is preferable to provide suitable supports on the truck which will receive shoes without lasts.

Such a combination is represented in Fig. 5, showing a complete support comprising two pins 5g=3334 mounted upon a bracket rod 44, which carries an appendage on the other side of the suspension bar 32 in the shape of an arm which is upwardly curved and is adapted to receive a shoe without a last, in the vertical position.

The addition, in conformity to the invention, of

a second pin 34 or 38 to the main pin 33 of the known type, is made necessary by the fact that in the known construction, the lasts have a cylindrical recess 42 fitting upon the pin 33, but it is 45- obvious that without departing from the invention, suitable supports may be constructed by the use of asingle pin whose cross-section is not circular, but is for instance oval or polygonal.

The transporter shown in Figs. 6 and 700m:-

prises supports which are analogous to the ones employed in Fig. 5,but itis evident that any other type of support may be adopted.

Herein, the bracket 44 is secured to a cross-bar 57 which is held at its ends by two bars or links -62, suspended from a transverse axle 63 whose ends are engaged in the links of two chains 64, which as shown in Fig. 6, pass over sprocket wheels 65, of which one or both are drivenby a motor 66. I

Due to the weight suspended from the bars 62, the said bars will always remain in the vertical position, and the shoes when placed on their supports, whether these are arms or pins, will thus be maintained in the proper position, even when,

--as shown in Fig. 6, the chains 64 move along a sinuous path.

In Fig. 6, the shoes are made to travel in a chamber 67 in which they are subjected to a drying (or other) operation, but it is obvious that 7 the said transporter may be put to a more general 'use, and may for instance be employed in connection with the system in which the several working points in the shoe factory are connected together by transporters, carriers or conveyors whose speed of travel corresponds exactly to the For the handling of shoes with uppers,- such as output of manufacture, in such manner that at no time, nor in any place, will there be a lack or an accumulation of shoes.

The form of construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is intended for the conveyance of shoes with or Without lasts, in a straight and horizontal direction, but this form of construction is applicable with equal facility to the transport of shoes in a straight'direction, whether inclined or vertical.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, each cross-bar 57 carries two bracket supports, and the said bars are secured at their ends to lugs 59 which are mounted upon the links of two parallel chains 60 passing over sprocket wheels 61 which are preferably actuated by a common driving shaft 53.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. 10 and 11, which serves to support the shoes, the supports consist in each case of a plate 36 carrying two pins 3334. Said supports are mounted at the front edges of boards 50 forming the steps of a travelling staircase.

For this purpose, each board is attached at the rear edge,.that is, on the opposite side from the one carrying the shoe supports, to two chains 51 passing over sprocket wheels 52 actuated bya common driving shaft 53.

The pivot axis 64 of each board 50 coincides, by well-known practice, with a pivot axis of the links of thechain 51.

At the outer edge, the board 50 is pivotally mounted at 55- upon a board 54 forming the front of the stop, which board is pivotally mounted at 56 upon the'chains 51. The height of the board 54'is determined by taking account of the inclination of the chains 51, in order that the boards 50 shall be practically horizontal and that the pins 33--34 of the several supports shall be vertical, that is, in the best-position for holding the shoes.

We claim:

1. A support adapted for trucks used in factories for the handling of shoes and provided with cross bars, comprising an arm having an inclined configuration, means at the lower portion of said arm for fixing the same to a cross bar on said trucks, a pair of pins projecting from the upper extremity of said arm and engageable within recesses provided in the shoe carrying last,-and a member bent vertically downward, then horizontally, then vertically upwardly and connected to said arm on the opposite side of said cross bar for receiving and supporting a shoe without its last.

2. In a truck for carrying shoes mounted on lastsand comprising horizontal carrying bars, a

support for said shoe and last comprising an elongated upwardly and outwardly inclined arm which rises from a relatively small foot portion secured to one of said horizontal bars and is provided with a relatively small horizontal offset head portion, said offset head portion being provided with a plurality of upwardly projecting pins engageable within recesses provided in said lasts.

3. In a support for simultaneously carrying shoes mounted on lasts and unmounted shoes, a relatively long inclined arm, a horizontal head attached to the upper end of said arm, said head being provided with means for engaging a recess in said last, means at the lower end of said inclined armcomprising a cylindrically recessed portion for fixedly mounting said arm on a shaft, and a hook member attached to said arm near said cylindrically recessed portion and extending therefrom in the direction opposite said head, said hook memberhaving a free outer end projecting vertically upward.

4. In a support for simultaneously carrying shoes mounted on lasts and unmounted shoes, a mounting foot cylindrically recessed to receive a shaft, a relatively long inclined arm, a relatively short horizontal flat head at the upper end of said arm, said head being provided with upwardly extending means for engaging a recess in said last, and a hook member extending from the side of said mounting foot and in the direction opposite said inclined arm and having its outer end bent vertically upwards, said mounting foot, inclined arm, head, and hook member being formed integrally in one piece.

5. In a support for simultaneously carrying shoes mounted on lasts and unmounted shoes, a mounting foot cylindrically recessed to receive a shaft, a relatively long inclined arm, a relatively short horizontal flat head at the upper end of said arm, said head being provided with upwardly extending means for engaging a recess in said last, a hook member extending from the side of said mounting foot and in the direction opposite said inclined arm and having its outer end bent vertically upwards, said mounting foot, inclined arm, head and hook member being formed integrally in one piece, and means on said mounting foot for adjustably fixing said mounting foot to a shaft.

6. In a support for simultaneously carrying shoes mounted on lasts and unmounted shoes, a mounting foot oylindrically recessed to receive a shaft, a relatively long inclined arm, a relatively short horizontal flat head at the upper end of said arm, said head being provided with upwardly extending means for engaging a recess in said last, and a hook member extending from the side of said mounting foot opposite said in clined arm first downwardly, then horizontally away from said foot, then vertically upwards.

EDMOND PLE. PIERRE PLE. MARCEL PLE. 

